Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
April 17, 2002
Faithful priests belie headlines
The following column first appeared in The Denver Post.
By Delio D. Tamayo
As an active member of the Catholic Church, I find myself unable to shake loose the tight grip of sadness occasioned by the perverted actions of some depraved criminals masquerading as priests.
My hopes and prayers for justice go out to the victims of such dastardly deeds. I also find myself temporarily under the spell of anger and disappointment for the way the Archdiocese of Boston and others have failed to explain the reasons for allowing miscreants to roam their midst. But I am not ready to embrace the shadowy image of my Church and especially of the priesthood burned into our minds by searing headlines. Through a lens aimed solely at the wart on her face, Cindy Crawford would be ugly.
Fortunately, the image of my Church as a loving spiritual guide and caring refuge for the less privileged, and the image of the priesthood as the highest of human callings, were sculpted early in my childhood. They were shaped throughout my youth in my native Colombia by my parents' teachings and the diligent instruction and actions of a number of priests — but especially by the exemplary religious life of my beloved and revered uncle, the late Father Gregorio Tamayo.
With humble devotion to his ministry, my uncle breathed life into the revealing expression that "in the goodness of man we see a reflection of the face of God." He was truthful to the words of a beautiful song in Spanish that tells us "que Jesus es verbo no sustantivo" — Jesus is action not words. He not only preached the Gospel, he lived the Gospel. Although my mind becomes crammed with vivid moments competing for attention as I try to recount his life, I still remember countless times when after a full day of services in his poor parish, my uncle would trek for hours to tend to the spiritual needs and to bring comfort to people in remote areas deep in the Andean mountains.
I also hold memories of how, in many instances nearly overcome by exhaustion after spending most of the night traveling on horseback to administer last rites to a dying person and console her family, he would reach deep down into the depth of his faith to find the strength to finish a religious service and tend to other pressing pastoral demands. Ignoring pleas from our family, he never in his life as a priest took a vacation except for the few days here and there spent in spiritual retreats.
But my fondest recollection is from the winter of my uncle's life. When age and illnesses had robbed him of his physical strength, hundreds of people would march to his home as if in pilgrimage, to express their love and gratitude. They came to visit him, to touch him and ask for his blessing. And after his burial my mother told me of how grieving throngs begged my family for small pieces of his garments to conserve as relics. I, too, keep a small piece of his cassock in remembrance of his life.
Thinking that my uncle's exemplary life of ministry might have been an unusually bright light among the priesthood, I was pleased to discover that it was not unique. After several years of living in the Denver area I met and became friends with another living saint — the late Msgr. Robert Hoffman. Equally gratifying to me has been to have the lustrous image of the priesthood I held in Colombia reaffirmed in Denver by witnessing the unselfish caring of priests for their flocks. That image is upheld by my former pastor and friend of 13 years Father Bill Breslin; by my current pastor, Father Marty Lally; by Father Malachy McBride; by Father Brian Murrow; by my dear friend of 25 years, Father Tomás Fraile; and by many others whose kindness and dedication have touched my life and the lives of thousands in the Denver area over the last 30 years.
Their actions and devotion to their ministry preserve the radiance of my Church against a backdrop of dark allegations. Just as with Cindy Crawford, she might have a wart on her face, but she is still a beautiful woman. I know it and you know it.
Dr. Tamayo is a practicing veterinarian in Aurora. A native of Colombia, he is a member of Queen of Peace Parish and a member of the board of trustees of the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of Denver. Co-chair of the Leadership Committee for Centro Juan Diego: Hispanic Institute for Family and Pastoral Care, he is chair of the subcommittee, Pastoral Care.
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